The index started off with a drop to the 1,263 range and fluctuated at around 1,269 points for most of the session, before plunging into the red in the last trading hour.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 3 percent to VND21.6 trillion. The bourse saw 163 tickers gain and 254 lose.

The VN30 basket, which comprises the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 23 tickers in the red, led by SBT of sugar producer Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC, which dropped 3.3 percent, after gaining for the last two sessions.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup and TCB of biggest private lender Techcombank both fell 2.5 percent.

VIC has slipped 12 percent from its historic peak on April 19 and was the ticker that contributed most to VN-Index’s plunge this session, pulling the index down by nearly 3 points.

TCB fell from its historic peak which was set in the previous session and pulled the index down by 1.1 point.

On the gaining side, CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank led the way, rising 3.3 percent to a new peak. The ticker has gained 34.6 percent since the start of this year.

NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group was up 3.1 percent for its second successive gaining session, pushing the index up by 1.1 points.

VPB of private lender VPBank continued its upward trend since February, gaining 1.7 percent this session and hitting a new historic peak of its own.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the third session in a row to the tune of VND1.1 trillion with strongest selling pressures on CTG, HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, and NVL.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 1.66 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market down 0.37 percent.